Associated PressVikings' running back Adrian Peterson led the NFL with 1,760 yards rushing last season. a source said Friday the Browns "screwed up" by not take Peterson with the third pick of the 2007 draft. The Browns chose tackle Joe Thomas instead.

A former member of the Browns personnel department -- who argued for running back Adrian Peterson before the 2007 draft -- said Friday that the Browns ''screwed up'' by not drafting the Vikings running back with the No. 3 overall pick.

Instead, they selected left tackle Joe Thomas, who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie and in 2008, and the Vikings -- who visit Sunday for the opener -- took two-time Pro Bowler Peterson at No. 7.

"In my mind, it was a no-brainer,'' the personnel man said. "Adrian Peterson was the best running back in high school football, the best running back in college football and now he's the best running back in the NFL. He was Rookie of the Year and led the NFL in rushing last season. We had a chance to draft the best player in the NFL outside of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and we blew it.''

The source said it was not as colossal a mistake as passing up Chargers' premier running back LaDainian Tomlinson for Gerard Warren in 2001, but a major gaffe nonetheless.

"What we should've done that season was move Eric Steinbach out to left tackle, and draft Peterson, because we were paying Steinbach left tackle money and he's a better tackle than guard anyway,'' the source said.

He went on to say that Thomas was the safe pick and that he's stabilized the position, but "Joe Thomas was like hitting a double and Adrian Peterson would've been a homerun.''

What happened he said, is that the personnel department and coaching staff were too fragmented to reach a consensus and said it was the coaching staff that nixed Peterson after he visited.

"There was definitely some debate and there was a faction in the organization that wanted to draft Peterson,'' he said. "Phil (former Browns general manager Phil Savage) wanted to try to get quarterback JaMarcus Russell and there was a faction that wanted to draft Brady Quinn with the third pick. In the end, because we were so fragmented, I think Phil went with the safe pick, which was Joe Thomas.''

He said in addition to the coaches' nixing Peterson, there were concerns about his durability. The NFL's rushing leader last season with 1,760 yards, Peterson broke his collarbone diving into the end zone while at Oklahoma and missed the last six games of his junior season, after which he came out in the draft. He also suffered knee and ankle injuries in college.

Before the draft, there was some talk that Peterson might have to undergo surgery to repair the collarbone, which scared off some teams. But durability hasn't been an issue in the NFL, with Peterson missing only two games his rookie year with a knee injury. That season, he finished second in the NFL to LaDainian Tomlinson with 1,341 yards rushing and 12 rushing TDs, and last season, he earned the rushing title. He also earned MVP of the 2008 Pro Bowl for his 129-yard, two TD performance.

"I'm really happy Joe Thomas is here,'' said Mangini. "You go into drafts and you look for needs and you make a decision on where you think you need to go organizationally. Not knowing what all those conversations were, I think they've both become really outstanding players. That's what you're always looking for, too, is the third draft pick to really play well."

"Balance, vision, power, speed, athleticism, competitiveness,'' said Ryan. "Did I forget anything? Screens? Shoot, he runs the heck out of those. This guy's a phenomenal player. Great athlete and obviously we've got a ton of respect for the guy, but we've got to hit him as hard as we can. The thing is, he breaks tackles. Guys like this, they test you. If you're not where you're supposed to be and if you're not there ready to hit and tackle, guys like this can make you look bad. We've got to be on our best. I don't think there's anything in football that guy can't do. I see him doing commercials, heck, he does a good job doing those.''

Even Browns Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown told Peterson in a meeting this summer set up by the Sporting News that Peterson is the best runner he's seen in a long time. The comments irked Tomlinson, who responded by criticizing Peterson and declaring himself the best back in the NFL.

Peterson took the slam in stride. "Really it doesn't matter, but it's Jim Brown and it's coming out of his mouth, so I can see why it would definitely touch a nerve.''

Peterson also drew praise this week from Jamal Lewis, who held the NFL's single-game rushing record of 295 yards against the Browns until Peterson broke it in 2007 with 296 against the Chargers.

"He's a great back, a great running back, knows how to hit the hole, hits it hard, plays bigger than he really is,'' said Lewis. "He has that gift. He has the breakaway speed, he can finish his runs and he doesn't back down. You never see him give up in the second or third quarter. He always runs hard all the way through the game. That's a good asset to have.''